1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates generally to a baseball mitt. More specifically, the invention relates to a baseball mitt having a substantially planar finger portion.
2. Description of the Background Art
A baseball player, such as a second baseman, shortstop, or third baseman defends the infield of a baseball field, in part, by fielding pop flies, line drives, and ground balls. When a ground ball is fielded, the player (i.e., infielder) usually catches the ball with the gloved hand, transfers the ball to the throwing hand, and then make a throw to the baseman that a hitter is running towards. As such, time is of the essence when fielding the ball and thereafter relaying the ball to the target base, before the base runner arrives.
A conventional baseball glove has a palm portion, a web portion, and five independent finger portions including a thumb portion. The web portion is located between the forefinger and thumb portions, such that the shape of the glove as between the forefinger, web and thumb is concave. As such, the baseball is easily trapped in the web portion.
If the infielder fields a ground ball with the web portion of the conventional glove, the infielder must retrieve the ball out of the web. In some instances, the baseball tends to stick in the web as the infielder tries to grasp the ball, which often leads to an untimely throw to another base.
As such, a skilled infielder, such as a collegian or professional ball player, will preferably field the ball by using the finger area of the glove in an attempt to stop the ball, and then let the ball come to rest in the palm of the glove. However, as the glove is used during the season, the leather and laces stretch, thereby causing the surface area of the fingers to become contoured with numerous depressions and protrusions of varying heights relative to each other. The varying heights and random contours over the surface area of the fingers and palm increase the susceptibility of the ball to bounce over the finger and palm area of the glove while the infielder tries to secure the ball. Accordingly, precious time is lost when the infielder tries to retrieve the ball from the gloved hand with the throwing hand.
Moreover, the fingers are typically laced between the fingertips on the palm side of the glove. As such, the fingers are prone to curl inwards, similar to the player""s hand when held in a relaxed position. When the fingers curl inward, the contoured surface areas of the fingers are further increased, thereby decreasing the overall surface area of the fingers available for fielding the ball. As such, many infielders are forced to repeatedly bend the fingertips backward in an attempt to temporarily flatten the palm side of the glove. However, the fingertips quickly return to their natural curled in state. Furthermore, the little finger portion of the glove also tends to curl in towards the thumb. As such, the glove tends to stay in a slightly closed position, thereby losing valuable surface area for fielding a ground ball.
Therefore, there is a need for a mitt that permits an infielder to successfully stop ground balls, as well as retrieve the ball from the mitt with the throwing hand in a minimal amount of time.
The disadvantages associated with the prior art are overcome by the present invention of a baseball mitt having a planar finger portion. More specifically, the baseball mitt comprises a front shell having a unitary planar finger portion terminating with four fingertips. A palm portion is positioned below and coextensive with the planar finger portion. A thumb portion extends from the palm portion and adjacent to the planar finger portion, and a heel portion is positioned below and coextensive with the palm portion and the thumb portion.
A web is disposed between the thumb portion and the planar finger portion. Additionally, a back shell covers the front shell and is attached about a peripheral edge of the front shell and back shell.
The planar finger portion is substantially flat such that a forefinger portion, middle finger portion, ring finger portion, and little finger portion are substantially aligned with one another. A three-finger padding layer is positioned proximate the forefinger portion, middle finger portion, and ring finger portion, and is compressible upon impact of a baseball. A little finger padding layer having a thickness greater than the three-finger padding layer is disposed proximate the little finger portion. As such, a fielded ground ball will be stopped by the planar finger portion and channeled to the palm portion, as opposed to being trapped in the web.